The Countdown to Planet’s Explore 19 Conference is On

We’re five weeks away from Explore 19, our first-ever user conference taking place at Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco on October 15th and 16th.

Our goal is to bring our vibrant community of customers, partners, end users, developers and thought leaders together to share knowledge and network through a combination of keynote sessions, customer-led breakout sessions and panels, hands-on technical workshops, and social events. (Find the full conference agenda here.)

For our first conference, we’re pleased to feature speakers from across our diverse customer base, including nuclear nonproliferation and geopolitics expert Jeffrey Lewis, Stanford University scientist Lisa Mandle, Erik Lindquist from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and founders from Kayrros, Salo Sciences, and many others. Additionally, Planet experts will have the chance to share hands-on lessons on our products, integrations, and the latest roadmap updates.

The inspiration for this conference came from a desire to have customers learn from one another, and for Planeteers to directly learn from our customers. We’re at a critical inflection point in our evolution as a company as we grow our relationships with customers and partners and broaden the usage of satellite imagery. Earth Observation data is more accessible than ever before, which has empowered both private and public organizations to use Planet’s data in fresh, new ways—and we look forward to hearing about all of them.

“We really want an opportunity to listen and understand how we can not only be a better partner to [our customers], but improve our product roadmap and the customer experience,” says Nate Dickerman, Planet CCO. “Through this, we can deepen those partnerships to ensure we’re driving mutual success.”

The potential for satellite imagery and its uses have sparked conversations about how to manage this dataset responsibly—a topic that will ignite discussions during several Explore sessions, including Space Samaritans: Nonprofits Using Imagery to Drive Impact.

Speakers on the Space Samaritan panel will include David Kroodsma of Global Fishing Watch, a company that provides near real-time tracking of fishing activity via their public map—as well as Crystal Davis and Mikaela Weisse of Global Forest Watch, an open-source web app that monitors global forests in near-real time.

“We are in a new age of transparency,” says Planet’s senior product marketing manager Zara Khan, who will serve as Space Samaritan panel moderator. “Data was limited in the past and so was accountability for managing natural resources like forests and oceans. But now, Planet customers are processing and analyzing our imagery faster than ever before. This timely, unbiased information is increasing understanding and fostering collaboration between governments, businesses, NGOs, journalists, academics, and the general public.”

At Planet, we’re not just building satellites—we’re building a community with a passion for discovery, exploration, and rapid innovation. All of the sessions and workshops are designed to help expand the community’s horizons, so we can all benefit from how these technologies can have a greater, positive impact on the world.

Register for Explore 19 here and find additional details on sessions and speakers here. Also, feel free to share with us the new and creative ways you’re using our data, either at the conference or via email at marketing@planet.com.